Pakistan International Airlines

[Matt995]

current PIA 777 fleet status:-

B777-200ER - 2 out of 6 aircraft in service (A6-BGK & A6-BHX)
B777-200LR - 0 out of 2 aircraft in service
B777-300ER - 1 out of 4 aircraft in service (A6-BHV)

so 3 out of 12 aircraft in service

according to a PIA forum the following aircraft are now not likely to ever re-entered service:-

B777-200ER AP-BGL
B777-200ER AP-BMG
B777-300ER AP-BID
B777-300ER AP-BHW

so a possible fleet of 8 aircraft, 4 B777-200ER's, 2 B777-200LR's, and 2 B777-300ER's to serve the UK, Europe and Canada?

really can't see a Birmingham service happening any time soon!

 

[gulftraveller]

so a possible fleet of 8 aircraft, 4 B777-200ER's, 2 B777-200LR's, and 2 B777-300ER's to serve the UK, Europe and Canada?

Not forgetting Saudi Arabia which takes up several 777 rotations per day.

 

[Birmingham Aviation]

I can't find the post at the moment, but Ringway Reports were showing PIA as restarting from 21st October with 2 B772 flights per week.
I'll update further when I find their post.

It’s for Manchester I think mate.

Post is on instagram

 

[Matt995]

PIA to return to Birmingham next month?????

taken from the Daily Telegraph:-

Pakistan Airlines restarts UK flights after ban for fake pilot licences

New service from Islamabad to Manchester paves the way for more PIA travel to British cities

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will operate its first flight to Britain in more than five years on Saturday after a ban triggered by fake pilot licences was lifted.

The service from Islamabad to Manchester could pave the way for flights to half a dozen UK cities, according to Mohammad Faisal, the country’s high commissioner to the UK.

He said that the scandal around the illicit licences, which came to light after a PIA jet crashed in Karachi in 2020, killing 97 people, had been addressed and that “whatever problems were there have been overcome”.

The crash was found to have occurred after the pilots chatted about Covid during the descent, guided the Airbus jet in at a dangerous angle, ignored advice from the control tower and then raised its wheels so that the engines dragged along the runway.

The damage was such that the plane smashed into buildings on a second attempted landing, killing all but two of the people on board and another on the ground.

A subsequent investigation by the authorities in Pakistan found that almost a third of the country’s active pilots held licences that appeared to have been obtained by having someone else sit examinations on their behalf, leading to PIA being banned from Britain, the EU and the US.

Mr Faisal said that mechanisms had been put in place to ensure that pilot qualifications were closely vetted to the satisfaction of UK and European safety regulators.

He said: “We have gone through a rigorous process of setting up a new system, which involves some external examiners and people who oversee the pilot licensing.

“Pakistani pilots are known all over the world, and they are flying planes in all the reputable airlines. They are very sought after. So we don’t have a pilot problem as such in Pakistan.”

PIA has also overhauled maintenance and safety management protocols, with flight crew being retested and certified in the UK.

On Friday, a Pakistani official said talks on technical aviation standards and the resumption of PIA flights were separate from other discussions within the bilateral relationship.

The Home Office said Britain and Pakistan were working in partnership on shared migration and return priorities.


Plans for new services

Having been given the all clear to resume flights, PIA aims to add services from Islamabad to Birmingham within a month and to Heathrow early next year.

Mr Faisal said flights from Karachi and Lahore should also resume soon, and services to Glasgow – serving 90,000 people of Pakistani descent – and Cardiff were in the pipeline.

PIA is likely to be joined by two other Pakistani airlines, privately owned Airblue and AirSial, with possible destinations including Leeds Bradford Airport, he said.

There are two million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK, plus 40,000 students, who make up to 300,000 return trips between the countries each year.

British Airways has offered the only direct service since Virgin Atlantic halted flights in 2023. However, large numbers of passengers travel indirectly, changing planes in the Gulf, a route that typically requires a four-hour stopover in the middle of the night.

Mr Faisal said the return of PIA flights will also increase freight flows to the UK, especially for perishable fruit and vegetables, helping to pave the way for a planned bilateral trade deal.

In the summer, a framework established three working groups on trade, which should produce “something solid” in a year or so, he said.

The restoration of flights to the UK will also provide a boost for PIA as it prepares for privatisation following a return to profit for the first time in two decades.

PIA was regarded as a major airline in the 1960s and 1970s, with Karachi described as the “gateway to Asia,” before being overtaken by carriers in East Asia and the Middle East.

Mr Faisal said: “It definitely has gone down over the years. That has to be accepted, but it’s high time that we make a turnaround.”

 

[gulftraveller]

I read this statement. It is not reality. They have enough aircraft to service MAN and, if another airframe becomes available, LHR (to make the slots worthwhile it will have to be daily). At the same time, the Pakistani government has stated that Barcelona and Milan are priorities. Then we hear the US is a priority. And where does CWL come from? Smaller diaspora community than other UK cities. More to the point, the CWL runway is too short for a fully laden 777 to depart nonstop to ISB. Surely passengers from that catchment would head to BHX or LHR? And AirBlue appear to have pulled plans to serve UK.

 

[mullion]

Yes there is a PIA 772 due in MAN this afternoon but their fleet is so small at present they can`t even do the MAN service as wanted which is 5 weekly and can only do CDG and MAN twice weekly

 

[Scania1800]

I read this statement. It is not reality. They have enough aircraft to service MAN and, if another airframe becomes available, LHR (to make the slots worthwhile it will have to be daily). At the same time, the Pakistani government has stated that Barcelona and Milan are priorities. Then we hear the US is a priority. And where does CWL come from? Smaller diaspora community than other UK cities. More to the point, the CWL runway is too short for a fully laden 777 to depart nonstop to ISB. Surely passengers from that catchment would head to BHX or LHR? And AirBlue appear to have pulled plans to serve UK.

CWL seems very unlikely, BHX was set to be alongside MAN before Christmas, still could happen, AP-BHX is fit to do the Paris, MAN etc routes too, so once that one is doing those, BHX will be next

 

[gulftraveller]

You may well be right. But then which aircraft will do Barcelona and Milan? It’s all a bit odd.

 

[Hassaan]

Another case of "I'll believe it when I see it".

I feel like they've been lined up to return for months and yet nothing.

 

[gulftraveller]

AP-BHX has been out of service since 12/10.

 

[Matt995]

dont think we will be seeing these 2 PIA aircraft in the UK for a while, if at all?

Boeing 777-200 AP-BGL

Boeing 777-300 AP-BHW

 

[mullion]

Look as if they have seen better days but a bit of a buff up and you never know

 

[Nibbles]

More to the point, the CWL runway is too short for a fully laden 777 to depart nonstop to ISB.

Im not sure thats quite right - CWL to ISB is about 3800nm and you can get about a 50 tonne payload off the ground with a takeoff run available of about 2300m. An aircraft at max takeoff weight needs just shy of 2500m at sea level. The b777 is quite good in that regard. But you are completely correct that the chance of getting anywhere close to a full b777 on that route is close to zero.

 

[gulftraveller]

Yes. Quite correct. But PIA flights always fly full with 40kgs luggage standard! The Boeing performance data are conservative but PIA may have a ‘liberal’ interpretation. But I think the scenario is very unlikely.

 

[AdamHussain07]

dont think we will be seeing these 2 PIA aircraft in the UK for a while, if at all?

Boeing 777-200 AP-BGL

Boeing 777-300 AP-BHW

Seems to be that way, honestly I’m shocked at the sorry state these two aircraft are in. -BGL was damaged by military and well, BHW… just sitting there. Not to mention, -BMG, -BHX are still grounded as well. AP-BHX was grounded to let AP-BMH fly. I just wish to see AP-BMG again, such a nice livery it was wasn’t it?

 

[AdamHussain07]

AP-BGZ is a goner due to improper maintenance practices damaging the airframe structure. During a PCAA spot audit, there was a cascade of failures in planning, tooling approval, and execution of tasks, leading to structural damage. Unauthorised axle jacks were also used.

Yeah so as it was being lifted, the structure got damaged, and that would be costly to fix… too costly.

 

[Scania1800]

AP-BGZ is a goner due to improper maintenance practices damaging the airframe structure. During a PCAA spot audit, there was a cascade of failures in planning, tooling approval, and execution of tasks, leading to structural damage. Unauthorised axle jacks were also used.

Yeah so as it was being lifted, the structure got damaged, and that would be costly to fix… too costly.

The unions are already striking ( unclear again ) over improper parts and quality of parts being provided to engineers to fix the aircraft’s